Sixth-graders at the S.T.E.M. Academy participated in Math TAKS Survivor Day, hosted by the Math Specialists, on April 23. TAKS Survivor was created as interactive math game where students had the opportunity to compete against other teams for prizes and reinforce needed math TAKS skills.

The game began with five groups of four students separated into four different S.T.E.M. classrooms. Each group was its own tribe, and each classroom had its own Math TEKS objective. Once at their classroom station, the students worked on four math problems as a team, and they would receive points based on how much help they required for their answer. When the students answered all the questions, they moved on to a survivor task.

The survivor tasks were team-building games. Many involved challenges where the students would play, jump and run outside on the track. These challenges were timed and added to their final score. By the end of the day, the students had rotated to all of the rooms to complete all the objectives and survivor tasks.

"Students practiced their match skills in a fun way," said Maria Ramirez, S.T.E.M. math teacher. "All students were motivated and worked well together while at the same time strengthening their team building skills."

The day ended with prizes for the tribes who answered the most questions correctly and who completed the survivor tasks the fastest. Ultimately, the day was about who could outwit, outlast and "out math" the TAKS.